The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during January 2014 the government reported 5590 new immigration convictions.
According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is the same as in the previous month.

The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted for immigration-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom
of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. (See Table 1)

When monthly 2014 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in
the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-21.7 percent).
Convictions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago.
Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are down 14.9 percent from levels reported in 2009.

The dip in
these cases is partly related to increases in the matters filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. If magistrate cases
are excluded and only Federal District Court cases are counted, the overall decrease in
immigration convictions is 6.9 percent instead of 14.9 percent.
The evidence suggests that part of the difference may be the result of improvements in the recording of the magistrate cases
by the Justice Department.

Figure 1: Monthly trends in immigration convictions

The decrease from the levels five years ago in immigration convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1.
The vertical bars in Figure 1
represent the number of immigration convictions of this type recorded on a month-to-month
basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court,
the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends.
The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so
that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.

Figure 2: Convictions by investigative agency

Virtually all federal criminal convictions for immigration offenses in January 2014
(100 percent) were referred by the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). The two lead investigative agencies in DHS are Customs and Border Protection (CBP) whose border patrol
agencies guard the county's borders, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), responsible for conducting
most immigration criminal investigations
under the immigration laws. See Figure 2.

Immigration Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts

Top Ranked Lead Charges

In January 2014, 3512 defendants
in immigration cases for these matters were
filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious
misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In
addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before
an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter
starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court
where subsequent proceedings take place.

In the magistrate courts in January the most frequently cited lead charge was
Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 involving the "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.". This was the lead charge
for 54.4 percent of all magistrate convictions in January.

Immigration Convictions in U.S. District Courts

In January 2014, 2078 defendants in new cases
for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during January there
were an additional 0 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate
courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information
was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and
therefore cover all matters filed in district court during January.

Top Ranked Lead Charges

Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of immigration matters
filed in U.S. District Court during January 2014.

"Reentry of deported alien" (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
"Reentry of deported alien" (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.

Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324.
"Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.

Ranked 3rd was "Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1546.
"Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1546 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.

Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest
increase in convictions—up 400 percent—compared to one year ago was Title 31 U.S.C Section 5332
that involves " Bulk Cash Smuggling into or out of the United States
".
Compared to five years ago, the largest increase—736.4 percent—was registered for
convictions under " Misuse of passport
" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1544 ).

Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest
decline in convictions compared to one year ago—down 63.4 percent—was
False personification - Citizen of the US
(Title 18 U.S.C Section 911 ).
Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions— 86 percent—was
for convictions where the lead charge was " Fraud/false statements or entries generally
" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1001
).

Top Ranked Judicial Districts

Understandably, there is great variation in the number of immigration convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.

The districts registering the
largest number of convictions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.

The Western District of Texas (San Antonio)—with 530 convictions—was the most active during January 2014.
The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 for most frequent use five years ago.

The Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd.
The Southern District of Texas (Houston) was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 for most frequent use five years ago.

District of Arizona is now ranking 3rd.
The District of Arizona was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 for most frequent use five years ago.

Recent entrants to the top 10 list were
Middle District of Florida (Tampa), now ranked
8th
, and Puerto Rico
at 9th
In the same order, these districts ranked 11th and 15th one year ago and 8th and 20th five years ago.

The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth
in immigration convictions compared to one year ago— 55.8 percent—was
Northern District of California (San Francisco).
Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth— 556.3 percent—was
Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit).

In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the
largest drop in immigration convictions— 35.5 percent—was
Puerto Rico .
But over the past five years,
Middle District of Florida (Tampa)
showed the largest drop— 33.2 percent.

Top Ranked District Judges

At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new immigration crime cases resulting in convictions of this type
during January 2014 are shown in Table 4.